1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electrical connectors, and in particular to an arrangement for removably mounting a transient suppression or electrical filter device in an electrical connector.
2. Description of Related Art
It has previously been proposed to place diodes and other nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP) or transient voltage suppression (TVS) electrical components on electrical contacts for the purpose of facilitating their use in high or medium density electrical connectors. Examples are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,741,710,4746,310, and 4,747,789. Present technology, exemplified by the connectors shown in these patents, requires that the component be mounted on the contact by the connector manufacturer.
The step of bonding the component to the contact greatly increases the cost of manufacturing a connector because connector assemblers or manufacturers ordinarily do not possess the state-of-the-art technology required to permanently bond a semiconductor diode or other component chip directly to a contact. Therefore, the connector assembler is required to either purchase or develop the requisite technology, or to manufacture the contact and send it back to the diode manufacturer for attachment of the semiconductor chip to the contact.
Generally, it is the connector assembler who bonds the component to the contact. The assembler is thus required to handle the component, modify the standard contact, complete the attachment of the component to the contact, and perform screen testing on the contact assembly which is over and above the screening performed by the component manufacturer. Such redundant testing is inefficient, as is the need to handle the component by both the manufacturer and the connector assembler, and the extra steps required to prepare or machine the contact to accommodate the component. All of these disadvantages could be avoided if a satisfactory arrangement existed for non-permanently but securely mounting a component together with a contact in a connector. However, no such arrangement exists.
Further, although permanent attachment of the component to the contact is convenient in that it permits the contact and component to be removed together from the connector for repair or replacement, at least prior to potting, the consequent inability to separately remove the contact and the component from the connector is disadvantageous because wastage may result if only the contact or the component requires repair. Again, this problem would be solved if there existed a satisfactory arrangement for non-permanently mounting a component together with its contact in a connector.
It has previously been proposed to place a diode chip loosely within a connector capacitor filter array in order to facilitate testing and removal, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,707,048. However, the device disclosed in the patent lacks mechanical stability and exposes the diode to damage if replacement is attempted. Nevertheless, the principle of non-permanent mounting of a component on a contact clearly has merit. What is needed is an arrangement for safely placing a diode chip or other component within an electrical connector such that the component is separately removable from the contact, and in which electrical connections between the component, the contact, and ground are as mechanically stable as if the component were bonded to the contact. The present invention provides such an arrangement.
While diodes are the most frequently used transient suppression components in the above-described type of connector, it has also been proposed to use metal oxide varistors or spark gap devices for transient suppression purposes and, in a similar context, to use capacitor chips for filtering purposes in medium or high density connectors. The disadvantages of the prior art mounting arrangements for diodes also apply to these alternative types of transient suppression and filter components.